LOU HARRIS A PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY

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I enjoyed last evening’s talk by Lou Harris tremendously. He was the final speaker in the 2015 Friends of the Key West Library Speakers Series. Harris is 94. He has been a part of American history. He is respectfully known today as the Dean of American Pollsters.

Harris was an intimate of former Presidents. Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. He shared some Johnson quirks. Humorous. He knew Joe Kennedy very well.

He decried today’s pollsters. They give he who is paying the bill what they want. Not necessarily the truth. Romney being an example. He sees Hillary as the next President. However, the e mails will be a problem for her. He thought Elizabeth Warren would be a more exciting candidate.

Harris recognized the growing strength/power of women. They are rapidly become leaders. Simply because they are better equipped to handle problems.

Education a problem. Our children not getting a proper education. Unless remedied, it could lead to the United States becoming the biggest banana republic ever. Also, children cannot learn if 16 percent go to school hungry.

He was clear that racial problems must be fixed.

He damned corporate America.

The evening was a pleasurable experience for me.

I was with June hudson. We stopped at La Concha after the talk for a drink. Ran into Aaron and Karen. Then to the Hot Tin Roof for dinner. Did some sataki.

On the way to our cars, it started raining. Pouring a better description. We ducked into the Chart Room till the rain stopped. It poured all night also. It is still raining heavy as I write. Strange because we are no where close to the rainy season.

Met Louis Snow for the first time at the Chart Room. Snow is a retired attorney from Skaneateles, N.Y. Home also of my friends Dan and Lisa Reardon. He knows them.

Snow is a frequent visitor to Key West. His present trip for 6-8 weeks.

I hope we run into each other again this trip. I would enjoy sharing war stories with an attorney who practiced in some of the same court rooms as I did.

My blog talk radio show tonight at 9. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me. The topics interesting. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou..

Topics such as Russia giving Denmark a nuclear warning, Andorra becoming the new place for money to be laundered, a police impersonator who had the misfortune of pulling over a real cop, a woman who was convicted of killing her child and had served 20 plus years being released because the proof against her was grossly unreliable, the Phoenix Zoo discovering after two years that a two year old bear was a female and not male, and more.

Another morning where I have to hustle. I have a late morning appointment with my dermatologist. A routine six month check up.

Enjoy your day!

 

LOU HARRIS

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Key West weather continues to be outstanding! The best! This morning everything is calm. Nothing moving. Soon the breeze will start coming in off the ocean. Then, everything moves!

I will be attending the Friends of the Key West Library Lecture Series this evening. The last presentation of the year. Lou Harris is the featured speaker. I am excited!

Lou Harris is 94. He has lived and experienced first hand much of the American political scene since 1960. Harris in his former life was a pollster. His company was known as the Harris Poll.

Prominence came his way with the 1960 Presidential election. John Kennedy hired Harris to run polls during the campaign. Prior to 1960, polls were not used.

Two years later in 1962, Harris devised the system whereby the media could project a winner immediately or within minutes of the polls closing. His system with a few modifications is still used today.

He was also a journalist and author. His respect grew and he became known as a political analyst.

I am excited because the man is history in the flesh. He has been there most of my adult life. I am finally going to see and hear him.

June Hudson is joining me. Afterwards, we will grab a bite somewhere downtown.

I did two things yesterday. Wrote Ho Chi Minh and watched March Madness. A full day. A pleasant day.

Ho Chi Minh is my KONK article for this week. It publishes wednesday. A bit of the Vietnam story and the person on the other side who led the Vietnamese forces.

A couple of upsets yesterday. What basketball at this time of the year is all about. Kentucky is still hanging in there.

People can be cruel. Age matters not as to the perpetrator(s).

Jim Boeheim has been in the news in recent weeks re Syracuse basketball. His daughter Jamie is a high school freshman. She was playing in a state wide basketball tournament in Troy over the weekend. Troy is a good 140 miles from Syracuse.

When she went into the game, the crowd heckled her with…..Where’s the cheater? She kept her head high and scored a basket within seconds of entering the game. Her answer to the chant. The crowd stopped at that moment.

A class act! As is her father!

Correction. I made a mistake in yesterday’s blog. A faux pas. I was discussing the Chicago mayoral race and said…..Garcia is also being supported by the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson. I meant to say Emanuel, not Garcia, was so supported.

I find it amazing. I proof read each blog 4-5 times. Occasionally, I miss something. Yesterday was one of those days.

Enjoy your day!

SATURDAY NIGHT AT TAVERN ‘N TOWN

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Tavern ‘n Town has become a locals’ hang out saturday nights. The food is good and Bobby Nesbitt entertains. Many saturday nighters are Bobby Nesbitt fans. Yours truly, one.

A lot of hellos. Last night Bob Frachette. A little later, his wife Lynda. Peter Batty stopped by. Besides being a businessman, Peter serves as a Deacon at St. Mary’s by the Sea. His religious dedication impressive.

Met two interesting gentlemen who were seated next to me at the bar. Cal Collier and his son, Cal Collier, Jr. The father now lives in Charleston, the son Atlanta.

The senior Collier is Calvin J. Collier. He was Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Ford. Son Cal is a marketing consultant. I also sensed he might be a sport fisherman.

They visit Key West 3-4 times a year. Both love Key West. The conversation suggested they might some day buy a home in Sugarloaf.

They are staying at the Marriott Beachside and expressed their great pleasure with the hotel and its facilities.

Key West people in the making. Soon hopefully with us full time.

My day yesterday was spent researching this week’s KONK Life column. I have to get it to the editor today for wednesday publication.

The subject is Ho Chi Minh. Prime Minister, President, and military leader of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. His experiences as a young man and in early adult life especially interesting. The molding of a leader.

Since mid season, I have been mentioning Villanova as perhaps winner of the Final Four. Coach Jay Wright had put together a spectacular team. They only lost 3 games during the season and were a #1 seed in the big tournament.

Last night, Villanova lost. To North Carolina State, a #8 seed. An upset!

I caught Coach Wright’s comments after the game…..We were beat by a better team tonight…..they played better than us tonight. The emphasis on tonight.

That’s how it goes!

Howard Dean is a doctor turned politician. He served as Governor of Vermont. He has been a candidate for the Democrat nomination for President. I have wondered why Obama did not put Dean on his team.

I may have come upon the reason yesterday. Dean may be a bit of a loose cannon in more ways than merely ranting and raving.

Obama’s friend and former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is running for his second term as Chicago Mayor. The election was recently. There is a run off. Jesus Garcia and Emanuel. A David v. Goliath race.

Dean should be supporting Emanuel. He is not. He is supporting Garcia.

Emanuel is being supported by the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson. Big hitters. Money men with the Republican right.

A strange election! Politics does make for strange bedfellows.

Enjoy your sunday!

IT’S A DOG’S WORLD

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I was doing a bit of shopping yesterday at Publix. There was a big woman in the aisle with me. She had two tiny dogs on leashes. Both wearing red vests. We moved into the next aisle. I paid no particular attention to her or her dogs. All of a sudden, the loudspeaker said there was a small dog wearing a red vest at the check out counter. The woman went flying by me yelling in a panic…..I am coming darling!

This was not the first time I had seen a dog in Publix. Many times. All sizes.

Key West is dog friendly. Very. Our four legged friends are welcome in many bars, restaurants and stores. First State Bank keeps dog biscuits on the counter. Dogs even have their own beach. Properly called Dog Beach. It sits next door to Louie’s Back Yard. Used daily by dogs for sun and bathing.

My yesterday began with a manicure and pedicure with Tammy. Crowded. All women and me.

Last night the bar at Hogfish. Chatted with various fishermen. The real kind. They have been working the shrimp boats and other type vessels for many years. Some as much as 25. Most are bearded. Some missing a tooth or two. Their faces tanned and haggard. Good company!

The morning news tells us of the man who attacked a TSA agent in the security area yesterday at the New Orleans Airport. He was waving a machete and sprayed one agent’s face with wasp killer. He was shot. Three times. Lived. Now in the hospital.

Frankie and Sandy were in the New Orleans Airport yesterday. They own and operate Frankie the Plumber. Frankie is my former bocce partner. Their plans were to spend a couple of days in New Orleans and then enjoy a two week Caribbean cruise.

If Frankie and Sandy were there at the time of the incident, they should have been ok. They would have been downstairs waiting for their bags and not upstairs where the attack occurred.

Some 30 years ago, I was in Italy for a month with my wife, children and parents. When leaving, we checked our bags and had our tickets reviewed at a particular counter. The next day, several terrorists shot up the same counter we were at the day before, plus two others.

You never know.

The following episode bears out that remark.

My friend Anna from Novara telephoned yesterday to tell me about the Tunisia ISIS attack at a museum in Tunis. Twenty tree killed. Four were Italians. One of the Italians lived near her, though she did not know him personally.

She told me however that my friends Germana and Mini knew the man and his wife. Germana and Mini are the couple that own what may be the biggest rice fields in northern Italy, a golf course, and live in a castle. I mentioned them when I visited Novara.

The dead man was Francisco Caldara. Sixty four. He was with his wife Sonia Reddi who was wounded. They were on a cruise. Tunis was a stopping place so they could visit the museum which apparently is world famous.

Anna told me that later in the day, the ISIS terrorists Twittered the world that they are on an Italian crusade and would soon arrive in Italy.

Our world gets smaller and smaller.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

HEMINGWAY’S SPAIN

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It is impossible to think of Key West and not Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway spent ten years in Key West. During that time, he did all the things people do when on the island. Drank, partied and fished. He also completed writing A Farewell To Arms.

Hemingway’s grandson Michael Hemingway was in Valencia, Spain yesterday. He met one of his grandfather’s closest friends, Francisco “Canito” Cana. Cana was a bullfight photographer during his Hemingway days.

Cana shared many stories with Michael. Especially, the “…..feasts and binges.” He told him of Pamplona and the running of the bulls. How he and Hemingway would eat a huge dinner the night before with much wine. The next day, they would watch the running of the bulls. Followed by coffee in the Plaza Castillo.

Cana added that Hemingway loved Spain, their drinking sprees, the wine they guzzled, and the flask of vodka he always carried.

First it was Syracuse, my Syracuse. Today it is Manhattan, my Manhattan. My poor Jaspers!

Not a basketball year for me.

Manhattan lost in the first game of the NCAA tournament. Manhattan had to play its way in. Had they won, the prize was playing Kentucky next.

Manhattan lost to Hampton College 74-64. Surprising since Manhattan was an 8.5 point favorite. Also, Manhattan’s record was 19-13. Whereas, Hampton’s 16-17.

Such is life! There is always next year!

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day. A part of Duval Street was closed off. The area jam packed. Most wearing green and drinking glass after glass of green beer. Everyone on a Duval crawl!

An interesting factual correction re  St. Patrick. He did not drive the snakes out of Ireland. Ireland was too cold for snakes. St. Patrick did drive the idol worshiping Druid religion out as part of his Christianizing most of Ireland. Over the years, the Druids being driven out has transformed into the snake story.

Netanyahu won. Surprising. You cannot always trust the polls. Query: How will this affect Iran’s thoughts re a nuclear agreement? Iran may now fear Israel and use that reason for not entering into a deal with the United States. It is assumed Israel has nuclear bombs.

My blog talk radio show last night. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. I spent half the show discussing Tom Cotton. The new kid on the block as I described him. A far right tea party type. Also, a neocon. Backed by big money and powerful people. Beware was my message. The man is being groomed for a Presidential run at some point.

This week’s KONK Life publishes today. My column is the Making of a Star. The Tom Cotton story. Read it. A guaranteed eye opener.

I am sick and tired hearing about Hillary’s e-mails. A red herring going nowhere. When are these idiots going to start discussing things like jobs and income inequality?

Nancy Robinson is a Key West icon. A lady. Known to everyone in Key West. Mother of Martha Robinson.

Nancy has been sick. She is still sick. In and out of the hospital. Now home. Definitely not well. Say a prayer for her.

Enjoy your day!

 

TIM AND MAUREEN HARVEY

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A good evening at the Chart Room! Interesting people, fun people.

Met Tim and Maureen Harvey from Clarksville, Tennessee. Both 50ish. Tim an attorney. Maureen manages his firm. She has done so from day one. They have two married daughters.

Tim and Maureen read this blog daily. Love them!

They have visited Key West several times over the years. Qualify for snowbird status. They are presently here for one month. June Hudson an acquaintance.

Tim mentioned he was a Democrat. One of three remaining in Tennessee. I am proud of him!

Nice people! Hope we can get together again before they leave. They have been Chart Room fans for a number of years. Know Captain Peter.

I was also lucky to chat with Amy last night. She is a bartender/hostess at the Yacht Club. My former club. She started working there about the time I left. Lovely and interesting. Another person I would like to meet again.

Before hitting the Chart Room, attended the Friends of the Key West Library program at St. Paul’s Church. Novelist Les Standiford guest speaker. He has written some best sellers. Among them, Last Train in 2003. The story of Henry Flagler and the Overseas Railroad. The book is now in its 20th edition.

Standiford’s most recent book is Desperate Sons. A story of the American Revolution. The book identifies the radicals who fomented the American Revolution. Men like John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry.

I found most interesting his telling us that the colonists who pushed for the Revolution were not those who led the country thereafter government wise. Two separate talents. Each effective however at the time needed.

Tonight, my blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Nine my time. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Interesting and exciting topics. Eye openers. Topics this evening include my thoughts re Senator Tom Cotton who penned the letter signed by 46 Republican Senators to Iran, Venezuela being rabble roused by Maduro who tells his people the United States is on the verge of invading Venezuela, the bad guys have found another place to launder dirty money, and police quotas being for real.

I have considered Senator Ted Cruz a radical, bit of a nut. No longer.

I watched Cruz on Morning Joe today. Was I impressed! He is articulate and thoughtful. An excellent speaker. Expresses himself well. Able to respond to questions without bullshit.

Cruz seeks the Republican nomination for President. Whether he can get it, another story. Whatever, he set forth his conservative thoughts well. My problem is I do not trust these guys. As far as I am concerned, they are under the thumb of the one percent and corporate America.

Enjoy your day!

 

Syracuse No, Manhattan Yes

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Yesterday was Sunday. I spent the first four hours finishing this week’s KONK Life column. Making of a Star. Re Tom Cotton. The young U.S. Senator who wrote the letter to Iran signed by 46 Republican Senators. The public should be aware of the nature of the man. A protegé of the conservative far right, he is being groomed for the Presidency. I consider him dangerous.

I was surprised at a comment by Mika Brezinski this morning. She referred to the Senators who signed the letter as “toddlers at play.” Not really. I doubt she is aware of Cotton’s background..

A guest on Good Morning Joe referred to the Congressman chairing the subcommittee looking into Hillary’s e-mails as “Gomer Pyle.”

Respect is fading in today’s society. We see it in our elected representatives. We are entitled to better from media news pundits.

After completing the column, I did yesterday’s blog.

A full morning of writing!

I took the afternoon off. I was tired from all the writing. Decided on Salute’s. Took the book I have been reading. Operation Sea Lion by Leo McKinstry. The story of England 1941 anticipating a German invasion. I finished the book while at Salute’s.

I found a table outside by the main door. Sat looking out onto the beach. Between pages, enjoyed the young ladies I felt guilty looking at the other day.

Operation Sea Lion is one of the best books I have read on World War II. I recommend it to you. The summer and fall of 1941 were very dangerous for the English. The bravery and confidence of the English people and Churchill are highly commendable. It made me wonder if we would handle a threatened invasion in the same fashion.

Last night was watching the NCAA seeds. I have no Syracuse to pull for. However, my undergraduate school made it. Manhattan College. A small Catholic college at the north end of New York near the Yonkers border.

Manhattan has a tough roll. They must play their way in. They first must beat Hampton. Their reward for winning is Kentucky. Number 1 and number 16 facing each other.

Manhattan’s coach is Steve Masiello. Played college ball for Louisville as a walk on. Got to two Final Fours, one won. Thereafter, he was an assistant coach to Rick Pitino at Louisville for six years.

Go ‘Cuse now becomes Go Jaspers!

Tonight is the Friends of the Key West Library Lecture Series. The speaker Les Staniford. He recently wrote a book about certain Revolutionary participants. Like John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Patrick Henry. I am a history freak. His talk should be interesting.

Sissy Spacek and Sam Shepard have spent the past year in the Florida keys filming a new TV show. Bloodline. Thirteen episodes start this friday evening via Netflix. The show’s action takes place primarily in Islamorada and Key Largo.

Harry Truman. Key West loves Harry Truman! Truman loved Key West! On this date in 1950, he arrived for a three week vacation. One of the eleven trips he made to Key West, all of which totaled 175 days.

Enjoy your day!

 

SAVE OUR PINES DAY

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Blog late this Sunday morning. Sorry. I spent most of yesterday working on this week’s KONK Life column. There was more to do. It took from 6-10 this morning.

The title is Making A Star. The Tom Cotton story. He is the U.S. Senator who penned the Iranian letter that 46 Republican Senators signed. The column an eye opener.

Some 15 years ago give or take, the State of Florida decided the Australian pines at Fort Zach Taylor Beach had to go. The pines were purportedly dangerous to the rest of the foliage enviroment, etc.

A group of Key Westers got together and fought the removal of the pines. It was not easy. However, after much grief, joy, and BS from the State, the group won. The pines still stand tall at the Fort Zach Taylor Beach.

The pines are perfect. If the sun gets too much, one can sit anywhere under them. Very cool.

Key West Mayor Cates announced that today is Save Our Pines Day. An annual pot luck picnic will take place at the Beach under the pines. Open to the public.

St. Patrick’s Day coming. Green beer day! The bars will do a booming business. Tourists will enjoy. Streets will be closed off for partying.

Enjoy your Sunday!

FLY TO HAVANA

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It finally happened! The first flight from Key West to Havana without all the red tape. Friday was the big day. The first regularly scheduled flight in 55 years. Havana Air the airline.

The start of something good. The remarriage of Key West and Havana is long overdue.

I started my research for this week’s KONK Life column thursday. Researched all day yesterday. I plan on writing the column today. The topic is Tom Cotton. He is the new U.S. Senator from Arkansas. He is also the author of the letter to Iran that 46 other Republican Senators signed trying to discourage Iran from signing any nuclear agreement with the United States.

His background surprising. He is to be taken seriously. A dangerous man who is being groomed for the Presidency.

A unique evening. Drinks first at the Chart Room. Then a long slow dinner at the Hot Tin Roof. My companion, June Hudson. We chatted so long that by the time we were ready to leave, we were the only customers left. A good time!

John Lukas was at the Hot Tin Roof bar earlier in the evening. I stopped and talked with him a bit. A good guy. I had not seen him since JDL’s Sports Bar closed several months ago.

We all have committed a faux pas or two. No one is perfect. Everyone occasionally makes a mistake. Some can be embarrassing.

The Key West Citizen published a Wedding Guide for 2015. Describes perfect honeymoon locations. No mention of Key West! A major faux pas. Especially since Key West is considered the #2 place in the United States for a wedding.

The main story in this morning’s Key West Citizen involves animal shelters. The three located in the Keys. The Upper Keys, Marathon, and Key West. Turns out the Upper Keys facility is performing more euthanizations than Marathon and Key West.

Eighty percent of dogs and 79 percent of cats are put down. Substantially more than the other two facilities. Something wrong in Denmark here!

When I was a young lawyer in Utica, I joined the Sons of Italy. My mother was born in Italy, my father in the U.S. After being an active member for several years, I dropped out. My practice had grown and I had to cut back on outside activities.

There is a Sons of Italy chapter in Key West. I never joined. The name has been altered. It now is the Sons and Daughters of Italy. Most of today’s Italo-Americans are second generation. Both genders are now accepted equally into the fold.

Enjoy your day!

TRUMAN’S VACATION HAVEN

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The History section of this morning’s Key West Citizen notes that on this day in 1950, President Truman arrived in Key West for a one month vacation. The month long stay is indicative of how much the President enjoyed Key West.

It was not the first time Truman had visited Key West. He actually visited 11 times. His 11 stays totaled 175 days. Key West his home away from Washington.

Truman would stay at what is known today as the Little White House. Back then it was the Commander’s Quarters on the Naval Base.

Truman did not sit on his butt the whole 30 days doing nothing. An aide accompanying the President set forth in detail what Truman did every day.

He would come with an entourage. His close staff, a couple of Generals and Admirals, a cabinet member or two, and some close friends from Independence. He would walk in the early morning, work most of the day. In between work, he took time some days to visit the beach  where he did some sunning and swimming. Occasionally, he fished. There is a photo of Truman in his undershirt sitting in a small flat boat fishing.

His evenings were generally the same. A couple of drinks followed by dinner. Then cards. Truman enjoyed playing cards and did so every evening. Enjoyed another drink or two. Then to an early bed. Around 9 many evenings.

Truman left an indelible print on Key West. He is an integral part of Key West history.

Last night was Don’s Place for a while. Many from the bocce team there. Don, David, Stan and Clare. The conversation centered around bocce and Syracuse and Ohio State basketball.

The cupboard was bare again. Stopped at Publix on the way home.

A couple of years ago, I read somewhere that supermarkets in poor neighborhoods would raise their prices on the days welfare checks were received. I think Publix is doing it here and now in Key West. Not for welfare recipients, however. Since the season started, prices have inched up and there are fewer sale items.

With Syracuse not playing in any post season tournaments, my basketball interest has faded. Big time! When I had Syracuse to follow, I would also watch other teams play. Now, I could care less.

Bocce tonight! The team is off to a better than usual start. May we keep it going!

Enjoy your day!